Sponged, BBQ'd, Flea'd and stuffed

Wow..what a weekend for all of us.  The planned trip for a mini-vacation went off right out of the weekend.  As a partial, late birthday gift for Amberlyn, we decided a fun trip up to the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs.  After a quick stop to a flea market on Sat. morning (the first of more this weekend) we headed to the docks to move in and out of the stores.

The kids were able to see lots of natural coral items, different kinds of shells, and of course, all sorts of sponges.  The day was perfect and the crowds were surprisingly light so we were able to move in and out of what we wanted without too much hassle.

After making a couple of stops, the kids really wanted to see how some of the divers actually got the sponges.  So we made a quick trip out on one of the docks where Sponge Diver Travis Jewel showed the kids how he got in a full diving suit (weighing 175 lbs.) and made the dive.  Both the kids loved seeing how this worked.

After a full day, we managed to make a quick trip down to the Clearwater Beach so Jenny and the kids could see the great, white sands of Clearwater beach.  It was packed but we managed to get in to make a little visit and allow the kids to dip their toes (and after a bit of playing) and eventually bodies in the waves. 

On Sunday, it was all about Grandpa Chester.  86 years young on Friday, it was going to be his agenda to set.  So we goofed around at the house, hit up a long flea market, did some poking around at the house and then hit up some BBQ ribs for his supper.  We even managed to get a little chocolate cake dessert and song arranged for him.  Thankfully the kids were more than happy to help him polish off "his" cake.

Now is just the recovery for the week.  Cody has his first youth group sleepover for the whole weekend so big times ahead!